SeaMonkey just picked it up from Firefox. At the time Firefox 49 was in Beta VS2015 update 2 had a bug which put SSE2 instructions into the generated code. Instead of going back to VS2013 it was decided to make SSE2 mandatory for Windows. VS20215 Update 3 fixed the bug but it was too late. And seriously its 2016 almost 2017 not 2001 and there are good reasons to do this. Generated code especially HTML5 support will benefit from it.

Same with the XP and Vista removal. Support libraries (I think LIBICU and maybe others) used by the backend removed XP and Vista support. Makes it hard to support a product when you can't use newer versions. I don't like it because I use XP on another PC with special hardware. Upgrading is not an option. But the next ESR release will probably support it till 2018.

So for those of us with legacy machines that don't support SSE2, what are our options? Are we stuck on SeaMonkey 2.40 forever?

frg wrote:SeaMonkey just picked it up from Firefox. At the time Firefox 49 was in Beta VS2015 update 2 had a bug which put SSE2 instructions into the generated code. Instead of going back to VS2013 it was decided to make SSE2 mandatory for Windows. VS20215 Update 3 fixed the bug but it was too late.

Why is it too late? Won't later compiles with VS2015 Update 3 not include SSE2 instructions if the bug is fixed? Or did the developers decide to force the inclusion of SSE2? If so, why would they do that? Does anybody plan to compile a version of SeaMonkey 2.46 (or later) that doesn't force the inclusion of SSE2?

For the record, all of my machines have SSE2 support except one legacy machine running Windows Vista. It would be nice to continue to use SeaMonkey on this machine, but if not I'll have to consider other browsers. What are my choices among other browsers that are still being updated?

> or your better off to buy a cheap updated Budget Computer from Amazon or somewhere else

Jup. My old T30 with XP still runs 2.46 and up just fine. 2.49 will be the last version supported on XP and Vista but its not the end of the world if you have an adblocker and Noscript.

FRG

personally i'd prefer Browser Security updates an the others than just the 2. the way i look at it. if people can afford to pay for there internet, they can afford a cheap Budget computer, just install Windows8 on it, your not forced to use Windows10 if you dont want it.

Linux is a option also however Firefox version 53.0 (Gecko 53) and later on Linux will no longer support SSE also so SeaMonkey versions using Gecko 53 and later will likely not work if CPU does not support SSE2.

>> they can afford a cheap Budget computer, just install Windows8 on it,

XP still has its uses. I need e.g. need it for some special hardware without later drivers. Kepp a laptop and desktop just fore these but the need for Internet browsing is limited on them.

>> and later will likely not work if CPU does not support SSE2.

I can confirm this. SeaMonkey 2.50 and up will not work without SSE2 support under Linux. There is a check in it which will even prevent you to try it. It will just quit and show an error message. And before someone quacks:D SeaMonkey had to follow Firefox / Gecko here. Not possible to just build without SSE2 any longer.

2.49 will also now show a proper error dialog during installation under Windows.

Thank you all for your replies. I should point out that everybody focused on my last question without addressing my earlier questions. Apparently there is no good reason to force SSE2 instructions other than every other browser developer is doing it.

I should also point out that Windows Vista is still an officially supported OS, albeit for only a couple more months. I find it strange that many applications continued to support XP for years after support ended, but are quick to drop support from Vista even before it's support window closes.

As far as buying a cheap budget computer, that's not the issue. As I said, I have other machines that are newer and have been upgraded to Windows 10. I only need this machine to run certain legacy applications that will not run on Windows 10. It's not super important to have an up-to-date browser on it, but it does make it more convenient when I'm using it to be able to browse the web. Still, it's no great loss, I'll just keep a pre-2.46 version of SeaMonkey on it.

Which brings me to my last question. 4td8s mentioned that he's still using "Adrian Kalla's unofficial SM 2.45 release build" on his relative's older Compaq desktop computer. Does anybody have a link to this build?

James wrote:Linux is a option also however Firefox version 53.0 (Gecko 53) and later on Linux will no longer support SSE also so SeaMonkey versions using Gecko 53 and later will likely not work if CPU does not support SSE2.

i should be ok. as i have the AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1100T Processor which came out in 2010